WAFU Cup exit is painful, says Togo skipper kouloun

Togo captain Maklibe Kouloun has described his team’s exit from the 2017 WAFU Cup of Nations as ‘painful’.

The Sparrow Hawks held Ivory Coast to a goalless draw in the teams’ last 16 clash at Cape Coast Sports Stadium on Tuesday but succumbed 4-3 on penalties.

The manner of the defeat was the same as Togo’s exit from the qualifiers for next year’s African Nations Championship [CHAN], as they were beaten 8-7 on penalties by Benin in the first round of West Zone B back in July.

“It’s painful because we were eliminated from CHAN on a penalty shootout – here again, it is the same, eliminated on a penalty shootout,” said Kouloun in the post-match press conference.

“We have ourselves to blame. It’s a lack of experience for the attackers to score because in football it is difficult to score.”

Meanwhile, Togo coach Jean-Paul Abalo admitted that his side didn’t have any major goals for the WAFU competition, seeing it more as a chance to give his players experience.

“Coming here we didn’t have any ambition to participate in the competition, but just to prepare our team for the next challenges coming our way,” Abalo explained.

“We regret the organisation of the tournament because travelling for more than one hour to come and play just one game is not something that encourages the team.”